Remain campaign advertiser M&C Saatchi boosted by Brexit

M&C Saatchi, the advertising agency enlisted to run the unsuccessful Remain campaign in the recent EU referendum, says Brexit has given the business a positive currency boost as it reported a rise in sales and profits.

The London-based ad agency posted a 14pc lift in sales to £100.2m in the six months to June 30, while pre-tax profits surged 28pc to £10.7m.

David Kershaw, M&C Saatchi’s chief executive, said: “We have not seen any impact as a result of the Brexit decision, other than a positive foreign currency impact.”

The final poster for Britain Stronger in Europe was unveiled by M&C Saatchi on June 21

M&C's numbers were lifted by the fall in value of the pound immediately after the referendum vote, making its earnings overseas more valuable. The company draws 60pc of its income from abroad.

Mr Kershaw said “momentum across the group remains strong” as falling profits on home soil were outweighed by its overseas growth, including in Europe, Australia and the US.

Deals with Reebok and BMW in the US helped turn a pre-tax profit of £3.1m, up 65pc from last year, as like-for-like sales in its American business also increased by 27pc.

We have not seen any impact as a result of the Brexit decision, other than a positive foreign currency impactDavid Kershaw

But restructuring in the UK advertising agency led to a sharp drop in pre-tax profits there, down 7pc to £3.4m, while sales dropped 1pc to £40.6m.

Saatchi’s UK agency, which won work with Royal Mail, Alibaba and the Department of Work and Pensions this year, said it was now finalising plans to sell off 30pc of the UK business to a team of senior managers, in a deal that it says will help boost performance by incentivising staff.

In Europe, like-for-like sales increased 12pc and pre-tax profit surged 55pc to £2m, where Stockholm was a bright spot after winning work with TV firm Com Hem, offsetting a sluggish advertising market in France.